Stop Punishing Yourself
by corabeth11
Summary: A story where Gajeel is feeling down, and Lucy tries to get him to confess his feelings for Levy. Implied Gajevy and Nalu. Hope you enjoy!


"Well, I guess I'm going to go home for the night. Goodnight Gajeel! See you tomorrow!" Levy suddenly says. We were enjoying a quiet meal in the guildhall (well I guess I was not-so-quietly scarfing down iron bolts), but I didn't realize it had gotten to be so late.

"Tch. See ya Shimp." I immediately regret not saying more as a look of disappointment crosses her face, but she's already walking away, telling others goodnight, and leaving the guild. Why do I have to care so much about _**her**_? Why couldn't it be anyone else besides _**her**_? Before I can wallow further into despair and self-hate, I notice a presence near me. Maybe if I ignore her, she'll go away…

"Hey Gajeel?" Lucy quietly asks.

"Go away Bunny Girl." Maybe she'll listen?

"When are you going to stop punishing yourself and tell her?" And then again, maybe not… Time to scare her away.

"Tch. I don't know what you're talking about, but even if I did, it's none of your damn business. Now, leave me alone!" Yelling at her should do the trick. If nothing else, it will make Flame-Brain mad enough to start a fight with me. Even though he's not facing us, I can tell by looking at how tense he just got that he wants to.

"No, I won't go away. You're not only hurting yourself but also Levy. I know it's none of my business, but you're both my friends, and I care about y'all. Come on. Stop this self-pity and think of Levy." Lucy pleads with me.

"I am thinking of her! She deserves better than a monster like me. For Mavis' sake, I crucified her to a tree! She deserves so much more than what I can give her…" I snap at her. I didn't mean to say that, but Lucy has a way of getting under my skin.

"Don't you think that Levy should have a say in what she does or doesn't deserve? Yes, you've done some terrible things in the past, but you're not that monster anymore. I've forgiven you for what happened back then. The guild has forgiven you. Most importantly, Levy has forgiven you. When are you going to forgive yourself? I know she's your mate. She's the only one you'll ever love. Don't waste that opportunity. Please, for both your sake."

"Wait what? How do you know she's my mate? How do you even know about mates?" I bet Flame-Brain told her all about mates. It wouldn't take long for her to connect the dots…

"With all the dragon slayers we have, Levy and I did research. We wanted to see…I mean…SHE wanted to know what entailed if she was a mate to some big, iron lug. As for how I knew it was Levy, I used my detective skills." Lucy explained with a wink.

"So just Levy was curious huh? You weren't curious at all about you and Flame-Brain?" Lucy reddened as I said that. She quickly glanced at Natsu to make sure that he wasn't paying attention. He was, but she wouldn't be able to tell, especially since he had to perfect alibi of fighting with Pervy-Popsicle.

"You mean Natsu? Me and Natsu? No way! That'd never happen…" Lucy sadly said as she looked at the table. Damn, I can't have that… I curse Shrimp for making me develop feelings that force me to care about these people.

"Why would you say that? I thought y'all were already a thing." At least this will take the conversation off of me.

"I mean at one point I thought so too… But he doesn't like me like that. He's made that abundantly clear over the years. As much as I wish otherwise, we'll only ever be friends." She sighed dejectedly.

I can't believe I'm about to stick my neck out for that moron, but Bunny Girl should be smiling. Plus, Shrimp would never forgive me if I didn't help her best friend. Ugh…

"Come on Bunny-Girl. Now this isn't like **you**. How do you know he doesn't? He's an idiot. He probably just doesn't know how to show it properly."

"He's not dumb Gajeel. Natsu might act it, but he's not. You know how I know without a doubt? He left me. He left me all alone for a year. A year! I understood about everyone else. They all had their own things going on, but him? No. If he loved me, he wouldn't have left me. I had to suffer with the weight of sacrificing my oldest friend, Master disbanded the guild and the only family I have, and then my best friend left me with just a note. I had no one for a year, and Natsu didn't care. Didn't bother to check-in or anything. He still hasn't talked to me about that or apologized. But you? You took Levy with you. You made sure she was safe and not alone. So yeah. That's how I know. But I'm not here to talk about my non-existent love life with Natsu. I came here to talk sense into you about talking to Levy and letting her in. None of us ever feel worthy of those we love or who love us back. That's why we have to work each day to become worthy. You're not working on becoming worthy though. You're becoming more unworthy. So stop! Erza is out on a mission right now, so quit moping here and go get her! Your love is returned. Don't waste it." With that, Lucy stormed out of the now silent guildhall leaving stunned guild mates behind.

I don't think she realized how loud her speech got… However, after a few minutes, two things became clear to me. First, I needed to pull my head out of my ass and talk to Levy. Second, I needed to beat up that Flame-Idiot. I guess second thing's first.

"Oi! Flame-Idiot! Why the hell did you do that to Bunny-Girl?! And who the hell did she sacrifice?!"

"I don't know… I didn't know…" Natsu replied still looking shell-shocked. Time to wipe that expression off his face.

"She's your mate, and you didn't know? Bullshit! Iron-Drag-!" A ball of light smashed into my face before I could finish my attack.

"Regulus Impact!"

"What the hell was that for Pretty Boy?!"

"So sorry to interfere Gajeel, but if anyone is going to pummel this moron, it's going to be me. As Lucy's knight in starlit armor, I alone have that right." Loke spouts off, reminding me why I can't stand him.

"Besides, don't you have something more important to be doing? Erza isn't going to be out of town forever you know. I'd hate to find out what would happen if she caught a boy sneaking into Fairy Hills. Also, good luck finding another spot free of listening ears." A chill went down my spine when Loke finished talking.

"Gihihi. Good point. Give him hell for me then, and tell Lucy I said thanks." With that, I head out into the night. I still don't know how it will work out with Levy, but Lucy was right. I have to try.

* * *

 **A/N: I hope you enjoyed this, and it wasn't confusing! I love the idea of Lucy and Gajeel becoming friends, and Lucy getting Gajeel to admit his feelings for Levy. I know I have another story I should be working on, but this idea wouldn't leave me alone! I hope I didn't make anyone too OOC, but I'm sorry if I did. Let me know what you think! Also, I don't own any of these characters. They all belong to Hiro Mashima. Till next time! :)**


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